Construction starts on 560 Lexington Avenue’s SOM-designed makeover

Jan 14, 2014

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Renderings: Skidmore Owings and Merrill

The Rudin family is sprucing up the lobby and public areas of its 22-story office building at 560 Lexington Avenue.

The Rudins tapped architectural darling Skidmore Owings and Merrill to transform the covered pedestrian space, lobby, elevators, retail storefronts and subway entrance at the 400,000-square-foot property. Construction has just started and is projected to end in the fall.

The renovations will include a new glass entrance, remodeled elevators and silver-white Spanish granite flooring, along with St. Hubert limestone from Portugal to replace the interior brick facades.

Also, the property’s entrance to the Lexington Avenue subway will get an upgrade.

The building, which opened in 1981, was one of the first new commercial developments to rise after the fiscal crisis of the mid-1970s.

“After 33 years, we’re excited to be reimagining and enhancing 560’s public spaces for our tenants and the community,” Bill and Eric Rudin, Co-Vice Chairmen of Rudin Management Company, said in a statement.

The building, which includes tenants such as Bayern LB, Verizon Business Services, Merrill Lynch and Carlton Advisory Services Inc., is currently 95 percent leased.